Semiconductor devices are used in a variety of electronic applications, such as personal computers, cell phones, digital cameras, and other electronic equipment, as examples. The semiconductor industry continues to improve the integration density of various electronic components (e.g., transistors, diodes, resistors, capacitors, etc.) by continual reductions in minimum feature sizes of integrated circuits (ICs), which allow more components to be integrated into a given area. These smaller electronic components also require smaller packages that utilize less area than packages of the past, in some applications.
One type of smaller packaging that has been developed is three-dimensional (3D) ICs, in which two die or ICs are bonded together and electrical connections are formed between the die and contact pads on an interposer. Some 3DICs utilize through-silicon vias to make connections from one side to another side of the interposer.
Fuses are devices that are sometimes formed on semiconductor devices that may be programmed using a laser, by directing a laser beam at the fuse from the top or bottom of the semiconductor device. Fuses may be used to alter ICs by connecting or disconnecting redundant circuits or memory cells, to repair the ICs or increase the number of usable ICs on a wafer, for example.
Corresponding numerals and symbols in the different figures generally refer to corresponding parts unless otherwise indicated. The figures are drawn to clearly illustrate the relevant aspects of the embodiments and are not necessarily drawn to scale.